


the feeling of home

by AngelycDevil, ImagineTheHaus



Series: ITH Holiday Special 2k16 [25]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Christmas Party, Engagement, F/M, Gift Giving, HAUS CHRISTMAS, Inspirational Speeches, Joy to the World, M/M, Merry Christmas!, Pets, Pregnancy, Secret Santa, affectionate bros, amazing gifts, everyone is happy and in love, futuretake, it's way longer than it was meant to be, listen y'all i poured my heart and soul into this fic in one day, pinch of feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9069901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelycDevil/pseuds/AngelycDevil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineTheHaus/pseuds/ImagineTheHaus
Summary: imagine the haus secret santa (our faves from SMH meet up at the Bittlemann household a few years down the road for an eventful Christmas party)





	

**Author's Note:**

> There’s a couple of easter eggs in here from other fandoms. Extra points to those who catch them. ;-)

Growing up, he hated crowds. They made him uncomfortable, being packed in by people he didn’t know. Unfortunately, he grew up with a lot of crowds. A side effect of being the son of a hockey legend, you see. Growing up, he never once thought he’d be _at home_ in a house full of people. Growing up, he never thought he’d have this—he hadn’t wanted to. All he’d wanted was to play hockey. He never gave much thought to anything else. Then Eric Bittle happened and his life…turned into this: a four bedroom house in Providence that he shared with his two dogs and husband who is currently hosting a party for every single person he ever cared for. And he’s _completely fine._

Smiling to himself, he finishes putting the last touches on the eggnog the way Eric likes it and heads back out into the crowd. He finds Kent and Tater by the Christmas tree slipping in their Secret Santa gifts to the pile and talking with Marty. Most of the Falconers are here, actually. So are some of the Aces since literally everyone loves Bitty.

“That is a fancy little drink you got there, Zimms,” Kent chirps him and Jack rolls his eyes. You make a bad cosmo _once_ and you’re ruined for life.

“Fuck off, eh?” he makes a big show of handing a cup to Tater while giving Kent’s to Marty. Kent bares his teeth at Jack and before coming in for a hug. Kent feels soft in a way he hasn’t in a long time and Jack’s glad they’re okay. Kent is barely out of his arms when he gets ambushed and _lifted off his feet_ by Tater. Jack laughs in surprise and hugs him back.

“Merry Christmas, Zimmboni. Is nice party. Where’s little baker, huh? Not see him.”

“Bitty’s with Lardo, I think. He wanted to show something to her.”

“How is she?” Kent and her have always been close…r. Jack had walked into Kent, Lardo, Shitty and Derek chilling out and he’d walked straight out. It’d felt like he’d walked into an alternate dimension.

“Very, very pregnant.” Something he’s never really thought he’d say about Lardo, but she seems happier than he’s ever seen her before, so he can’t really complain.

“Poor Lardo.” Tater sighs. “Pregnancy is hard.”

Marty nods with him. “I used to stay up massaging Gabby’s feet. I felt so bad for her, but there wasn’t much else to do.”

“Well, I’m gonna go find her,” Kent declares, finishing off his drink. “Say hi. You coming, baby?”

Tater shakes his head and kisses Kent’s cheek. “Is okay. I stay here. You make her feel like princess, okay?”

“Pretty sure that’s Knight’s job, Mashkov,” Kent calls out as he weaves through the crowd.

“How’s Shitty doing?” Marty asks after Kent leaves.

“You mean how much is he freaking out,” Jack asks wryly.

“It’s tough the first time. Let him know that he can come to me if he has any questions, yeah? I mean, I told him, but he might actually believe me if you say it.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll let him know for sure. How are your kids?”

“Good. I just took Anna to the rink last week for the first time.” Marty grins proudly. “She’s pretty good for someone who doesn’t know what she’s doing. She was standing by herself by the end of the day.”

“You get video?” Tater asks.

“Yeah, man. Gabby got the whole day on camera.”

“That’s amazing. But you go easy on her, know?” Tater chirps. “You tell her she come to Uncle Tater will teach her proper hockey.”

“Oh, _please,_ I’ll be teaching her to win, Mashkov,” Marty chirps back.

* * *

Justin groans. “Unfortunately, I’m not even kidding. I mean, who does that? Let me tell you, this is _not_ the reason I went to med school.”

Gabby wrinkles her nose while Adam chortles beside Justin, an arm around his waist. Jack pats Adam’s back and smiles when he exclaims and hugs him with one arm.

“Is it the carrot story again?” Jack chirps Justin with a hip check and a hug. He hadn’t had a chance to say hi to them since he’d been with Snowy and Swoops when they showed up.

“Ugh, dude, I’m traumatized for life.”

Jack snorts. “Clearly, man. I would be too.”

“Thanks for hosting us, Jack,” says Gabby. “It’s really nice of you and Eric. This is amazing.”

“Oh, please, you guys are practically family. Besides, Eric’s the one who put this all together.”

“Bro, that is not what I heard.” A teasing smile appears on Adam’s lips and Jack can’t stop him before he turns to Gabby and goes, “Jackiepoo, here, helped with _all_ the decorations and the cooking.”

“That is so sweet, Jack! You have to teach my husband some things,” she chirps, smiling widely.

“Hey, from what I heard, he’s pretty good on the grill.”

“Eehhhh.” Gabby imitates a balance scale with her hands. “He makes up for it in _other_ departments.”

Adam and Justin groan while Jack rolls his eyes at her. He’s pretty desensitized to Gabby at this point.

Gabby laughs. “Alright, alright, I’m gonna go catch up with Miranda and get a refill. You boys behave, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jack salutes as she walks away.

“She’s really nice, man,” Justin observes.

“Yeah. Marty got lucky.” Jack claps his hand on Justin’s shoulder. “So, how are you two doing? How’s everything coming along?”

Justin and Adam look at each other before grinning widely at Jack. “We’re not really talking about it so we don’t jinx it, but it’s nice, Jack. Really nice,” Justin confirms and it’s all Jack needs. Justin and Adam have been looking into adoption options for a few months now on the DL.

“That’s amazing, you guys. You two deserve it.”

“Aw, thanks, Cap.” Adam smacks a kiss on Jack’s cheek. “What about you and Bitty? You’ve talked about any _plans_?”

“I don’t know. It feels like we just settled down, ya know? Everything’s great. Bitty’s shop is doing well and hockey’s doing good and—”

“ _Doing good?_ Bro, you just got a Stanley Cup.”

Jack grins. “Okay, fine, hockey’s great. But you know what I mean.” He shrugs. “If it comes up, we’ll talk about it.”

“Awwww, look a’chu, all adult and responsible in your relationships.” Justin digs his fingers into Jack’s side and Jack barks a laugh in response.

“Please, like you’re not right there with me.”

Justin shrugs easily. “But you’re _married,_ bro.”

Jack manages to catch himself before he looks at Adam. He doesn’t know _when_ , but he knows Adam is planning on proposing soon. Jack can’t for the life of him figure why they waited this long considering they already live together, but he’s just glad his best friends are happy.

“It doesn’t matter. You guys are solid. That’s all that matters.”

“Jack! Honey, can you come here a second?” Bitty calls out and Adam shoots Jack a knowing yet mocking look that Jack ignores as he leaves to help his husband.

* * *

“Sorry we’re late, man,” Will mumbles into the hug as Derek hangs their jackets in the closet.

“BITS, DEREK AND WILL ARE HERE!” Jack calls out before turning to Will. “Don’t worry, man. We’re just glad you were able to make it,” Jack replies. “How’s Dodger?”

“He’s better. The vet wanted him to stay the night just to make sure, so that’s where he’s at.”

“I’m glad he’s okay. Bits was really worried. I had to stop him from looking up doggie treats before he overworks himself.”

“Nah, man,” Derek chimes in. “Dodger is fine. But that’s really sweet though.”

“ _Derek Malik Nurse,_ is that a _ring?!_ ” Bitty bounds down the stairs in a streak and in front of Derek. Bitty grabs Derek’s left hand and _oh, that’s a ring._ Jack spies a similar one on Will’s hand and raises an eyebrow. Will flushes in response.

Jack grins. “Congrats, you two. About time.”

“I cannot believe y’all didn’t tell me! Oh my gosh, Derek, Will, _congratulations!_ ” Bitty bounces. “Okay, so we’re gonna go inside ‘cause my mama raised me better this and you two are gonna tell us _everything_ , ya hear?”

“My god, is Eric Bittle asking for sex deets?” Derek chirps as Bits drags him and Will up the stairs. The tips of Bits’ ear turn tomato red, but he doesn’t slow down. Jack follows and the four of them settle into the couch. For the first time all afternoon, he has Bits in his arms and he pulls him even closer. Bitty smiles in response before focusing on the engaged couple.

“Sooo…?” Bitty prompts and Jack can’t help pressing a kiss against his adorable husband’s head.

Derek rolls his eyes despite his pleased smile. “We…um, well, we kinda proposed to each other at the same time.”

Bitty nearly squeals. “At the same time? _How?_ ” Gordie, their pitbull, barks and vaults himself in their laps, finally found his humans. Jack automatically goes to scratch behind his ears.

“Well, we went for a date after, like, three months since we’ve both been pretty busy,” Will starts. “I hadn’t really planned anything but dinner, but I took the ring anyway.”

“When did you get the ring?” Bitty interrupts.

“Whoa, what’s going on here, brahs?” Shitty sits on the floor near Will.

Bitty opens his mouth to answer, but Jack squeezes his side and Bitty falls silent as Derek glances at Will.

At Will’s nod, Derek grabs his left hand, holds it up and yells, “WE’RE MOTHERFUCKING ENGAGED!”

Pindrop silence follows for two seconds before the entire house erupts and Derek and Will are hauled out of their seats for hugs, congrats and several kisses thanks to Shitty. In complete contrast, Lardo holds out her fist for a fist bump and Jack grins.

Eventually, things settle back down and Bitty clears his throat at them pointedly.

After a few moments, Will remembers the questions and replies, “I bought the ring two months ago?”

“Oh, wow.”

“Anyway,” Derek picks up. “This fucker goes to the restroom and I’d had _everything_ planned down to the T, so the staff cleared the table and brought out the white chocolate bread pudding which is what we had during our first date and I arranged the ring on the table, ready to get on my knee and this guy, he comes out of the restroom _and goes straight on one knee_.”

“To be fair, I had been waiting for the right moment for two months,” Will adds, shoulder-checking his fiancé. Jack grins at their attics and the blatant joy on their faces. He’s not the only one. Most of their friends have abandoned their conversations to listen to this. “The entire date was perfect an—”

“Because I made it be,” Derek interrupts.

“ _and_ I just realized,” Will continues as if Derek hadn’t spoken. “That he’s always been there with me and I didn’t want to wait anymore.”

“You could’ve waited another minute,” Derek grumbles.

“You still got your proposal, Nurse.” Looking up at Jack and Bitty, he clarifies, “Once I got on my knee and asked him to marry me, Derek froze and then looked _absolutely furious_ —I’ve been never been more scared in my life, I was literally sweating bullets here, and he says ‘only if you marry me’ and whips out his ring from the table and gets on one knee. We both said yes at the same time.”

“ _Oh my god_ , that is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard!” Bitty jumps up and into their arms while there’s a chorus of _aww_ s and _woot!_ s from the crowd “I’m nearly in tears! That’s so romantic and wonderful and y’all better invite me to an actual wedding and not elope or some shit or I’ll cut off your pie-access.”

Everyone laughs.

Derek gasps in mock-horror. “Not the pie!”

Will chuckles. “Don’t worry, Bits. Both our moms are kinda insane about weddings. I’m sure they’ll kill if we don’t have a huge wedding and of course, you’ll make the cake, right?”

Bitty looks at Will for a moment and Jack can see the tears in his husband as he chokes out, “of course. Good lord, I’m so happy right now, I don’t know what to do with myself.” He fans himself.

“So am I, Bitty,” Derek confesses, resting his head on Will’s shoulder with a serene smile. “So am I.”

* * *

“This was really nice, you guys. Thank you so much for having us over.” Snowy and his wife, Miranda, say after their hugs.

“Of course, honey. We’re so happy you came and that lasagna really was something else.”

“Nothing compared to the desserts, Bitty. You outdid yourself,” Miranda says while Snowy nods in agreement.

“Damn right, he did,” Snowy booms from behind, Poots and Swoops by his side.

“You guys leaving too?” Jack reaches for a hug. It’s been awhile since he’s seen them after they switched to other teams. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Trust me, man, it’s ours. Take care of yourself, alright?”

“I will, thanks for coming.”

Jack manages to hug Poots and Swoops too before Bitty hands them their gifts and fusses over them as they bundle up.

“Drive safe, y’all! Don’t be strangers!” Bitty calls out as they wave their goodbyes.

“I’m miss them all so much,” Bitty sighs.

Jack pulls him into a tight hug. “Me too, babe. We’ll visit them during break, eh?”

Bitty gets on his tip-toes and kisses him sweetly. “Okay. I love you, Jack Zimmermann.”

“I love you too, Bits,” Jack whispers and returns the kiss.

“OH MY GOD, STOP SUCKING FACE. IT’S SECRET SANTA TIIIIIMMME!” Shitty bellows from the living room.

Jack flips him off and dives in for a far-dirtier kiss than they’d been doing a minute ago. Bitty squirms against him until he catches up with the plan. Then he throws his arms around Jack’s neck and pulls closer. They both laugh when they hear Shitty shriek.

Bitty is the one to pull back first. “We should go,” he whispers and Jack _knows_ he’s right, but he has his husband in his arms, freshly-kissed, so he pouts at Bitty instead.

Bitty flushes, the color bursting through his cheek. “Oh my god, Jack, _we have guests._ ”

Jack chuckles and pulls back. “After,” he promises.

The red in his husband’s cheeks grow darker. “Fuck you.” Bitty jabs him in the chest and runs away. Jack follows.

The group has congregated in a somewhat circle near the Christmas tree by the time they show up. Bitty plops on the ground near Chris and Caitlin and Gordie immediately climbs on his lap. Their other dog, Maple, was already fast asleep the last time Jack checked. Jack lowers himself on the couch next to Shitty who immediately sprawls across him.

“So, are we going one by one or all at once? It’s your choice, y’all,” Bitty questions.

“One by one, Bitty. We’re adults, not heathens,” Kent chirps.

Bitty sticks his tongue out at him. “Just for that, you’re going first, Mr. Parson.”

“Oh, is _that_ how it is?” Kent snarks back. “Jokes on you ‘cause I wanted to go first.” Kent uncurls himself from Tater’s side and heads to the tree.

Jack straightens with interest because Tater, Bitty and Lardo have been discussing this for quite some time and _very_ secretly. Bitty wouldn’t tell him what it is no matter how Jack asked.

“This better not be a gift card,” Kent grumbles jokingly as he holds up a small card-shaped gift. He rips it open to a white card. “Go to the office,” he reads with a confused look. He looks at Alexei with a small smile. “Damn, what’d you all get me?”

Kent gets up and heads to the office. Jack strains in his seat to get a view. There wasn’t anything in the office the last time he looked. But that was hours ago.

A loud gasp sounds from the room followed by a small _“oh my god.”_

“Bro, what is it?” Justin calls out.

Jack looks back to see Bitty and Lardo smiling like fools.

“He’s _perfect,”_ Kent says as he enters the room with his arms curled. There’s a small ball of fur in his arms. _Is that—_

“Bro?” Adam says, awe in his voice.

Kent nods and Jack can see the tears in his eyes. _Oh, Kent._ “It’s a kitten. I got a kitten.”

“That’s awesome!” Chris leaps to his feet and goes to Kent. He’s not the only one. Everyone, including Jack, crowds around Kent to get a peek at the little thing. Kit had passed away only two years ago and it’d hit Kent hard. He’d refused to get another cat immediately, but clearly, this is the right time.

Alexei manages to pull Kent into a hug despite the crowd and Kent sobs into his chest. Alexei murmurs something into Kent’s hair and pets him as everyone carefully pets the kitten. The crowd thins after a while and Jack finally gets a turn to get a proper look. He’s beautiful.

“You alright, Kenny?”

Kent smiles at him widely and nods. “I’m surprised you didn’t have something to do with this.”

Jack quirks an eyebrow. “Nice try. I’m not gonna say who your Santa is.”

Kent pouts. “But I wanna thank them!”

“Figure it out then,” Jack replies simply and drops a kiss on Kenny’s forehead before repeating it to the kitten.

“So, who’s next?” Shitty calls out.

“Man, I’m kinda scared to go now. What’s gonna top that?” Caitlin confesses, grinning. Then, she turns to Chris. “What about you, babe?”

Chris gasps. “Traitor.”

“Yeah, Chris, go,” Lardo goads without missing a beat.

Chris sighs, knowing when he’s beaten. “Alright, alright, I’ll go.”

His gift comes in a huge box wrapped with gift paper Jack knows is hiding in their garage. Bitty spent weeks on this gift and Chris is gonna _love_ it.

“Goddamn,” Chris breathes out when he opens the box. “ _My god!”_ He nearly squeals out as he pulls out a knitted pair of gloves in black and teal. Chris has grown past his Sharks obsession to where he no longer has his entire house filled with merch. He still loves the hell out of them though and the set Bitty has knitted for him allows him to support his favorite team in a _subtle_ way.

Chris continues to pull out a scarf, a beanie and a striped sweater. “Cait, look!”

Caitlin grins at her husband fondly. “Yes, honey, I’m looking. They’re gorgeous.”

“And they don’t have sharks on them so I can wear them _everywhere_.”

Everyone chortles as Caitlin sighs heavily.

“Yes, you can, honey.”

“This is the best! Thank you!” Chris gathers all his presents and returns to his spot, rubbing the soft fabric against his face.

Caitlin side eyes Bitty with a mock glare and he winks back at her.

“I’m next! I’m next!” Shitty dives into the gift pile and emerge with a long, rectangular box. He carefully opens it before freezing.

“ _Oh shit_ ,” he whispers after a few minutes. “HOLY SHIT! Brah, whoever you are, THANK YOU SO FUCKIN—LARDO, LOOK!” He scrambles to where Lardo is sitting, her feet propped up on Adam’s lap and pulls out smaller cubes. When he turns it, Jack sees a familiar logo etched on the tie.

“Duuuude,” Lardo replies in recognition with a smile.

“I got Star Trek ties!” Shitty exclaims and proceeds to show it to everyone. “They’re so fucking cool. I can wear these to cases. I can totally wear these to cases. _YES!_ Thanks brahs!”

He settles near Lardo and opens a box. Within minutes, Shitty is proudly wearing a Star Trek tie over his ridiculous Christmas sweater and a wide grin.

Derek goes next and doesn’t shriek when he finds a bundle of books from his favorite poets because he’s _chill._ Bitty, on the other hand, _freaks out_ for a good minute or two when he finds the certificate for that oven he’s been wanting for the shops for ages, but refuses to buy because his current ovens _are working just fine, Mr. Zimmermann_. Jack slyly thanks Kent for that one. Will nearly drops his gift when he unwraps it before gaping at it for a good while. Then he unwraps it for everyone to see and Jack grins when he sees it’s the new fishing rod that Will’s been raving about, but never bought because it’s (ridiculously) too expensive. Jack silently bets to himself that it’s Shitty who got that one. Jack goes next and finds a set newly published memoirs and autobiographies Jack’s been eyeing for a few months. Bitty _defintely_ had a say in this. The sneak…

Adam opens Lardo’s gift for her to find a huge art set with everything from color pencils, crayons to paints…and a mini-version of all of it. _For Mommy and me days,_ said the printed note. Then Adam opens his, but the note on top tells him to open his with Justin’s in bold letters. Adam huffs a long “ _finnnnne”_ exaggeratedly. Caitlin finds Christian Louboutin heels with a lot of straps and certificate for a spa day.

Tater goes next and Derek visibly squirms in Jack’s periphery. Jack raises an eyebrow at him and he shakes his head in reply. Unlike Kent, Tater gets a large, flat box, but when he open its, there’s nothing there but crumpled paper. He pulls out a note and reads it aloud, “go to basement.”

 _Oh my god_ , Jack thinks when he figures out what the gift is. The only thing that would explain Derek’s squirming. Biting down his laugh, he watches Tater disappear into the basement, Kent’s on his tail with the kitten in his arms and waits for the reaction.

Seconds later, a shout comes from the basement followed by a squeal and incomprehensible cooing. Jack grins as Tater runs up the basement stairs (with Kent on his heels, no doubt) and excitedly shows off his gift like Rafiki from Lion King. In his arms is a dark gray fluffy poodle puppy.

“ _Isn’t she so adorable??”_ Tater coos and brings her closer to himself to snuggle with her.

Gordie perks up as the puppy barks at Tater and joins all the humans in crowding Tater. Tater laughs and kneels to introduce the two dogs to each other. Gordie barks and licks the puppy. Tater lets the puppy go and watches her jump over Gordie with a content and happy look on his face. Bitty grabs the puppy for a bit, blowing kisses and petting her.

“She better get along with my kitten, Mashkov, or she’s leaving,” Kent mutters from behind.

“Why don’t we introduce them, huh?” Tater scoops the puppy up and goes to Kent. The puppy and kitten stare at each other for a few intense moments before the kitten sniffs and turns away and the puppy nearly jumps out of Tater’s arms to lick at her. Everyone laughs in delight.

“They get along just fine, Kenny.” Tater laughs as he holds the wiggling puppy to the kitten and dips down to kiss Kent. Kent melts and they return to their seats.

“Alright, my turn!” Justin claps his hands together and reaches for the last gift under the tree.

“And mine,” Adam chimes in.

Justin gets rid of the wrapping paper to find a long flat box with a note attached on top telling him to wait for Adam.

“Someone coordinated,” Lardo notes.

“You ready, babe?” Adam asks with his hand hovering over this box.

“Yup. On three?”

“On three.”

“One, two…three!”

They open the boxes at the same time, tossing the lid behind them as they stare at the contents.

“What is it?” Bitty whines, bouncing in his seat.

“Dude,” Justin looks at Adam with wide eyes.

“Dude,” Adam echoes and pulling out a plane ticket.

“Daaaammmnn,” Lardo whistles. “Where to, fellas?”

“Caribbeans."

“Wait, there’s a note,” Justin notes and hands his ticket to Adam. “ _Shit_. Babe, hotel tickets and…” Justin flips through the sheets. “Approval from our bosses for the trip. _Shit._ ”

“That’s amazing,” Shitty exclaims, pulling them in for a hug.

Pretty much everyone here knows the two deserve a good vacation after the hours they pull at work and put into being the best friends anyone can ask for (which includes dog-sitting.) Jack smiles and pulls them into a tight hug. “Congrats, man.”

“Thanks,” Justin whispers into the hug. “This,” he exhales in disbelief. “It’s amazing. You know who did it?”

“Nah, man. But you deserve it.”

Justin ducks his head. “I know, but with… _everything_ , we thought it’d be best if we saved our vacation days, ya know? To spend time with… I just didn’t think our bosses would be cool with this _and_ that.”

“You’re both hard workers. Your bosses know that.”

“Okay! Okay!” Bitty yells above the crowd. Jack looks back to see his husband standing on a table. “It’s really late—later than I planned and I know most of y’all are heading back to spend Christmas with your families, so, um, let’s do a toast, okay?”

Jack grabs the champagne and Derek tags along to help with glasses. Soon, everyone is armed with a glass full of champagne except Lardo who got apple juice.

“I just—I wanted to thank y’all for coming and making this one of the best Christmases _ever_ and, um, just…thanks for being in our lives, for being my friends and Jack’s friends and being more than I’d ever imagined I’d have. Y’all are basically family now, so.” Bitty takes a deep breath and swallows heavily before smiling widely. “Here’s to a lifetime of family.”

Everyone cheers and clinks their glasses with their neighbors.

Jack moves next to where Bitty is standing. “Bits is right. Every single one of you is family, and growing up the way I did, after everything that happened, I never expected any one of you. But there you all were, caring for me as Jack rather than Bad Bob’s kid, and I don’t think I’ve ever expressed how grateful I am for that. For what you gave me. For being by my side time and again when I needed you and even when I didn’t because that’s what family does. You helped me become a better man and—” Jack chuckles. “That allowed me to be brave enough to take the next step with Bitty. Every time I step on ice and play, whether I win or not, it’s because I know either way, I’ll have you just like I’ll have my parents and Bitty. You guys make me stronger, better and there’s no gift in the world that I can give to thank you for that.

“Until today, I never really realized how far we’ve come. We’re not in college anymore and this isn’t the Haus, but we stuck together still and now, here, we’ve shared our victories and defeats. We’re different people than we thought we’d be as college students, but the people I see here are _happy_ and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for every single one of you. So thank you and congratulations.”

There’s a beat of silence and Jack actually looks at the people around him and notices most of them are in tears. _Shit._

“Um, here’s to happiness?”

“Honey!” Bitty hugs him, burying his face into Jack’s side. Jack curls an arm around him when Shitty barrels into him.

“JACK!” he wails wetly and sobs into his shirt. With that, the silence is broken and Jack is surrounded by his best friends in cuddle pile. Jack can’t make out much of anything, but Adam is behind him and close enough that Jack can hear him.  

“We’re grateful for you too, man. And so proud of you, Cap.” Jack blindly reaches back to squeeze Adam thanks. Jack feels a pair of lips press against his neck in reply and Jack can’t stop grinning as he dips down to kiss Bittle’s forehead.

“Oh, honey,” he breathes out and tilts up to kiss him gently.

Jack curls down to rest his forehead against Bitty’s and lets the feeling of _home_ wrap around him like a warm blanket on a rainy day. They’ll do this again. He knows they will. Maybe next year, maybe not. It doesn’t matter either way because he knows they’ll be in each other’s lives one way or another for the rest of their lives. And their lives, their lives will change rapidly and day by day and they’ll have each other to lean on.

Sure, Jack never thought he’d have this. But he’s never letting go.

**Author's Note:**

> We are always accepting new prompts at our [tumblr](https://imaginethehaus.tumblr.com) account, so feel free to drop by with a little headcanon or ask.


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